TY - JOUR
T1 - Lessons Learned from the 2011 Great East Japan Tsunami
T2 - Performance of Tsunami Countermeasures, Coastal Buildings, and Tsunami Evacuation in Japan
AU - Suppasri, Anawat
AU - Shuto, Nobuo
AU - Imamura, Fumihiko
AU - Koshimura, Shunichi
AU - Mas, Erick
AU - Yalciner, Ahmet Cevdet
N1 - Funding Information:
We express our deep appreciation to the Tokio Marine and Nichido Fire Insurance Co., Ltd, through the International Research Institute of Disaster Science (IRIDeS) at Tohoku University, the Willis Research Network under the pan Asian/Oceanian tsunami risk modeling and mapping project, and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) project for their financial support. Professor Yalciner acknowledges the Turkish Chamber of Civil Engineers and the TUBITAK 108Y227 Project for their support. We would like to express special thanks to the anonymous reviewers and editor for their comments on improving the quality of the paper.
PY - 2013/6
Y1 - 2013/6
N2 - In 2011, Japan was hit by a tsunami that was generated by the greatest earthquake in its history. The first tsunami warning was announced 3 min after the earthquake, as is normal, but failed to estimate the actual tsunami height. Most of the structural countermeasures were not designed for the huge tsunami that was generated by the magnitude M = 9.0 earthquake; as a result, many were destroyed and did not stop the tsunami. These structures included breakwaters, seawalls, water gates, and control forests. In this paper we discuss the performance of these countermeasures, and the mechanisms by which they were damaged; we also discuss damage to residential houses, commercial and public buildings, and evacuation buildings. Some topics regarding tsunami awareness and mitigation are discussed. The failures of structural defenses are a reminder that structural (hard) measures alone were not sufficient to protect people and buildings from a major disaster such as this. These defenses might be able to reduce the impact but should be designed so that they can survive even if the tsunami flows over them. Coastal residents should also understand the function and limit of the hard measures. For this purpose, non-structural (soft) measures, for example experience and awareness, are very important for promoting rapid evacuation in the event of a tsunami. An adequate communication system for tsunami warning messages and more evacuation shelters with evacuation routes in good condition might support a safe evacuation process. The combination of both hard and soft measures is very important for reducing the loss caused by a major tsunami. This tsunami has taught us that natural disasters can occur repeatedly and that their scale is sometimes larger than expected.
AB - In 2011, Japan was hit by a tsunami that was generated by the greatest earthquake in its history. The first tsunami warning was announced 3 min after the earthquake, as is normal, but failed to estimate the actual tsunami height. Most of the structural countermeasures were not designed for the huge tsunami that was generated by the magnitude M = 9.0 earthquake; as a result, many were destroyed and did not stop the tsunami. These structures included breakwaters, seawalls, water gates, and control forests. In this paper we discuss the performance of these countermeasures, and the mechanisms by which they were damaged; we also discuss damage to residential houses, commercial and public buildings, and evacuation buildings. Some topics regarding tsunami awareness and mitigation are discussed. The failures of structural defenses are a reminder that structural (hard) measures alone were not sufficient to protect people and buildings from a major disaster such as this. These defenses might be able to reduce the impact but should be designed so that they can survive even if the tsunami flows over them. Coastal residents should also understand the function and limit of the hard measures. For this purpose, non-structural (soft) measures, for example experience and awareness, are very important for promoting rapid evacuation in the event of a tsunami. An adequate communication system for tsunami warning messages and more evacuation shelters with evacuation routes in good condition might support a safe evacuation process. The combination of both hard and soft measures is very important for reducing the loss caused by a major tsunami. This tsunami has taught us that natural disasters can occur repeatedly and that their scale is sometimes larger than expected.
KW - Sanriku coast
KW - Sendai plain
KW - The 2011 East Japan earthquake and tsunami
KW - tsunami countermeasures
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U2 - 10.1007/s00024-012-0511-7
DO - 10.1007/s00024-012-0511-7
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84882992269
VL - 170
SP - 993
EP - 1018
JO - Pure and Applied Geophysics
JF - Pure and Applied Geophysics
SN - 0033-4553
IS - 6-8
ER -